Dave,i find that new 36 underwhelming so far, the typical 36 atmospheres and synths are sounding very thin here... while that Marsen Jules trio is quite good, very nice soundtrack-like atmospheres and vibes, perfect mastering..

there's way too much i've been playing as of late, just a few to mention here;

mathias grassow - calibrationmathias grassow - transpersonal(very good Grassow material, has been playing this a lot over the last week)

bvdub - wolven [reworked]2nd disc of Ian Hawgood's Wolven 2CD, just fantastic as always! didn't read much about it but it's simply great ecstatic stuff to me..

the 1st two tracks sound like a 3rd disc of "Expanding Horizon".similar mood and high-pitched mastering, and sounds seem also being compressed too much somehow.. for Grassow standards slightly underwhelming so far..

on the other hand, his latest "Sonnenwende" has a distinct clarity and perfect volume-level of mastering imo.a 2013 favorite for sure and to me one of Grassow's best releases!

hello Brian,there is no point of criticism here. i think the MP3s are giving a good idea about its overall sound and atmosphere. but after hearing the whole thing quite a few times now, i was rather surprised how good it is!i'm also glad James got back after all those years.. his signature sound, piano is still there.it's certainly up there with my favorites recently.

oophoi - athlit(very sad to acknowledge that the somehow shadowed master of mystic drone only play his sounds beyond our hearing from now on... Athlit is for me one of Oophoi's highlights, superb mastering by Mike @ hypnos)

kane ikin & david wenngren - strangers(somewhat under the radar goodness, exquisite drones and textures here, rediscovered it lately with full pleasure)

steve roach - back to life(have been playing this over the last few days and it evokes new layers and feelings which i didn't have before, that's our Roach!)

aidan baker - aneira(very good longform drone piece on a 12-string acoustic guitar, the last excellent 12 minutes should have been longer.. )

federsen - phasespace ep(i wish this' EP was a full album. one of the best new artists in the dubtechno scene i think..)

steve roach - future flows(i decided to go for the Flac download for now and purchasing my CD later on via Amazon when it comes by for a good price.initially i didn't feel much for this release but after multiple listens over the last 2 days, i can feel it has enough depht to bite into it.. i agree the 2nd track feels a bit like the Ascension for Shadows sessions but halfway the track it unfolds into something very beautiful and graceful, i haven't heard from Roach for quite a while..)

eluder - through horizon(digital edition while waiting for my CD to arrive, excellent release on Infraction! very nice breathing drones and sounds.. a current highlight for me)

marsen jules - the endless change of colour(obviously a letdown for many 12k devotees but for me a 12k highlight. beautiful ever-shifting organ-like drones for 47 minutes)

vincent i watson - serene(a classic sounding ambient album from the UK techno-head. surprisingly good, at times some tracks even remind me of Thom Brennan's majestic ambient works..)

Hey Jim02, as usual, thanks for heads up on the upcoming discs. Don't forget the Alexander Saykov disc on gterma, which never came out as a cd from Cold Tear. It is amazing. BTW, I bought that Feather cd by the Koss guy and was very disappointed. Some Koss like moments but most was well produced elevator music, with some really cheesy vocals. Sad because I love that Ancient Rain cd and I just picked up his Four Worlds Converge disc, which is very good.

talking about the Saykov CD, i've been trying to get into it but i can't, after a few tracks i switch every time to another release.

Koss is a different thing, when he works under his own name, mostly his music is pushed into a more jazzy thing.. though very well produced and sets the mood for it, for me.

today some things i'm rather enjoying;

krill.minima - sekundenschlaf(took me a few listens but simply excellent crispy-clear produced dub-techno!)

martin schulte - slow beauty(good relaxing dub-techno that won't keep your head still for a moment..

grouper - the man who died in his boat(today i finally started to appreciate this release as i wanted.. so i pushed the order button for a psysical copy)

aidan baker - lost in the rat maze(one my Baker favorites over the last few years)

sinepearl - the dance of affinitysinepearl - through water she spoke(beautiful dreamy fairytale soundtrackmusic ala Ishq, his' music is something to watch for! a 3rd installment is planned for early this year on bandcamp)

andrea belfi - wege(got this somewhere last year, never gave it full attention until i did last week, good stuff, excellent percussion parts)

between - between (12k)improvational music by some established musicians who have a knack for a great atmospheric set of sounds and music.. should be accompanied by some nice cup of herbal tea.. )

yannick dauby/john grzinich/murmer - lind, raud, aastaajad (definately one of the best things of last year for me. disc 1 features mostly fieldrecording along with some gong-like rumbling frequencies. disc 2 is a set exquisite fieldrecordings mixed with soft subdued glowing drones, very good if you ask me)

steve roach - soul tones(typical Roach here, nothing groundbreaking 'so far', but as a lot of his music takes time to resonate on me, i'm still behold of some potential treasure inside of this..)

i first bought the regular edition but after hearing the downloads on the net i found the extended 38-minute Thaw reprise that good, i had to order the complete edition/box ltd for a slightly lower price at n5mailorder.if you ask me, i think the price is too steep for this box. i personally don't care much for the photo's that comes with it. and i think for this price they should include the full digipak (as the regular edition) inside the box.

speaking about the music, it might be Deupree's finest.. and of the best things i've heard last year.

btw. i just got the latest Between CD from 12k, and that's a rather fine disc as well!